How to feed your Cocker Spaniel?

Any pets need proper care, proper daily routine and quality nutrition. If you decide to have a dog, then it is important to add more training, daily walks and other measures designed to raise a healthy and obedient pet. If a Cocker Spaniel appears in the house soon, then you need to read as many articles and books about this breed as possible in order to know the peculiarities of the care and feeding of this pet.

The breed of dogs, the Cocker Spaniel, has its own characteristics associated with growth and development, which allows you to develop a daily routine and diet suitable for it.

Like many other breeds, spaniels can eat hand-cooked food, dry food, and mixed food. Each of the options has its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, therefore, before choosing something specific, it is worth studying them.

Diet, composition and amount of food are very important for any dog, and in order not to be mistaken, certain factors must be taken into account.

• Dog size... Cocker Spaniels of different species are very different in size, and therefore the size of the portions will differ.
• Age features... The puppy should consume a fairly large amount of food, as his body is in the stage of active growth and development. A slight overeating will not harm in this case. However, you should carefully monitor what exactly the pet eats, because small individuals can only eat natural, nutritious and fresh food.Feeding an elderly Cocker Spanil will be different because motor activity will be significantly reduced, which means that there will be no need for significant replenishment of calories.
• Features of physical activity... Cocker Spaniels, which are hunting dogs or compete, use up a lot of energy. Therefore, they need timely and complete restoration of it through nutritious food. Domestic dogs do not have such a load, because the portions for them will be smaller.
• The role of the pet's character. Almost all Cocker Spaniels have a playful character and are constantly on the move, but sometimes you can find calm, apathetic individuals. Active pets need to be given a full portion so that the dog does not starve, but calm pets can reduce the amount of food by a quarter.
• Features of health and physical condition. The diet changes in some cases: the recovery period after surgery, the birth of offspring and their feeding. At this point, it is important to add protein products to the main food, which will contribute to a faster recovery of the animal's body.
• Any allergic reactions... Cocker Spaniels are among those dogs that are prone to allergic reactions to any food. This is especially true of modern dwarf breeds. In order not to harm your pet, before feeding him new food, it is worth checking if he is allergic to it. To do this, start feeding with small portions. In the event of a negative reaction, such as itching, irritation and watery eyes, it is necessary to remove the food hazardous to the dog from the diet.

It is necessary to feed the cocker spaniel correctly, otherwise irreversible processes will begin very soon, which will negatively affect the health of the pet. In addition to the composition of the food, you need to pay attention to the size of the portions themselves: a puppy in 1 month can eat 3-4 tablespoons of food, for a 2-month-old pet this rate increases to 4-5 tablespoons per meal.

The diet of dogs of this breed is based on the following principles:

• pets up to 2 months of age are fed up to 6 times a day;
• from 2 to 4 months, it is recommended to feed spaniels no more than 4 times a day;
• from 4 months to 1 year, the diet is brought to 2 meals a day;
• an adult healthy individual is recommended to feed well only once a day.

The main feature of the meal schedule is regime, the owner must adhere to a specific time and place for feeding the pet. Such a system allows the dog's body to adapt and work harmoniously.

You will learn more about the rules for feeding puppies by watching the following video.

Each owner decides for himself what and how he plans to feed his dog.

In order to properly formulate a diet, it is important to know which foods can be fed to the cocker spaniel and which not. Among the necessary and useful ones, it is worth highlighting the most valuable.

• Meat Is a staple in the diet of any dog, including cocker spaniels. For puppies, the amount of the product is calculated in the proportion of 50 g of meat per 1 kg of the pet's weight. Adults consume 250-300 g of meat per day. It is important to boil this product well and avoid any bones.
• By-products. 2-3 times a week instead of meat, you can give the dog by-products: liver, heart, lungs. It is important to boil such food well. Due to the lower calorie content, its amount increases by one third.
• Dairy products. Any dairy product is food, so even milk cannot replace ordinary water.For adult dogs, milk can be laxative and should be justified. It is very important to give your pet kefir, cottage cheese, cheese and yogurt, without which the digestion process will not work properly.
• Eggs... It is worth preparing omelets or soft-boiled eggs no more than 2 times a week, a larger amount will provoke negative processes in digestion.
• Bread and cereals. These products should not be overused. Even cereals do not form the basis of the diet, they are included only for variety. It is best to use rolled oats, buckwheat and rice, which are cooked both in water and in milk. If desired, you can add vegetable oil and vegetables to the porridge.
• Vegetables. Cocker Spaniels can be given vegetables such as carrots, pumpkin, cucumbers, turnips, and courgettes. They are served both raw and cooked, but the former is preferred. For the product to be better absorbed, you need to finely grate or chop the vegetables and add vegetable oil or sour cream. You can also use greens as food for the dog, which are finely chopped and poured into the main dish - this way the dog will receive more nutrients.
• Fruits Dogs can also be given, but not much, due to the high sugar content in them. It is best to use apples, melons, watermelons, currants, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, cherries.

In some cases, the spaniel will benefit from crackers and dried fruitsthat will help intensify the digestion process.

To protect your pet from worms, you need to add garlic to the diet, which is rubbed with a crust of bread, and on the other hand, butter is spread. You can finely chop a clove and add to food.

Not all dog owners have the opportunity to prepare a variety of food for their pets, taking into account all the necessary components and their combinations. In this case, ready-made food will serve as an excellent alternative to self-preparation. These products can be fed to both puppies and adult dogs. There are the following types of similar food:

• dry - in the form of granules;
• semi-moist - pieces of ready-made food with gravy;
• wet - food in the form of a paste or paste;
• goodies.

To find good food for your cocker spaniel, it is worth paying attention to another important factor - the quality of the product, which can be:

• economy;
• premium;
• super premium;
• holistic.

Depending on the budget and wishes, you can choose the appropriate product, but you also need to take into account the purpose for which this or that feed is produced. On the shelf in the store you can find a wide variety of food, which is assumed in certain cases:

• for daily meals;
• supporting ruler;
• preventive nutrition;
• medical products;
• enhanced diet for weak and malnourished dogs;
• hygienic food, which is a treat.

Once the right food has been selected, you can confidently use it for daily feeding of a spaniel of any age, the main thing is to correctly calculate the amount of serving.

If there was no previous experience in using the finished product and there are doubts about its necessity and benefits for the pet, then the advantages and disadvantages of this feeding option should be studied. Among the advantages of ready-made feed are:

• ease and speed of cooking;
• long shelf life;
• convenience of portion dosage;
• the presence of all the necessary vitamins, minerals and useful additives necessary for the full development of the dog's body.

As for the disadvantages, the following can be distinguished:

• the high cost of premium feed, which is more expensive than cooking on your own;
• holistics are practically not sold in retail trade;
• you can fall for a fake of expensive food, which will harm the dog's health;
• puppies need to be given semi-moist and wet food until they have a complete change of teeth;
• feeding only dry or wet food negatively affects the development of the pet and its digestion.

After analyzing all these factors, we can come to the conclusion that feeding the pet exclusively prepared food is suitable for very busy owners who have no time to be behind the stove and cook something to the spaniel.

In the modern rhythm of life, people often find it difficult to allocate a large amount of time for hobbies and pets, because something has to be sacrificed. In the case of pets, caring for them often suffers, since there is no time for walks, full feeding, training. In such a situation, it is better to refuse to keep pets, as this only harms them.

If the owner still tries to find a free moment, take a walk with the dog, teach her something and cook something tasty and healthy, then the pet will generously thank him for this. The occasional opportunity to cook the spaniel food on his own forces the owner from time to time to use ready-made food, which is a mixed diet of the dog. Here we can highlight:

• mixing different products - dry or semi-moist food along with cooked food;
• separate feeding option involves the serving of a certain type of food within a specified time frame: in the morning it can be dry food, in the evening it can be natural products.

This feeding option has its advantages:

• the ability to cook on your own only when there is time for it;
• in the absence of time, use ready-made store products;
• fast replenishment of the animal's energy supply.

There are also disadvantages in a mixed diet:

• danger to the health of the dog when fed with low-quality feed;
• the threat of oversaturation with proteins in high-class feed, as well as allergies to this component of the composition;
• getting dysbiosis and indigestion;
• the risk of overweight pet.

You can use a mixed diet for your spaniel only after the puppy is 5 months old.

If the owner prefers to cook his own food for his Cocker Spaniel, then you need to know exactly what foods are not worth dealing with. There is food that the dog can eat, but its consumption must be correct. For example, fish - for a variety of menus, it suits, but it is necessary to choose the right variety so that it completely lacks bones.

Although it is believed that dogs should be allowed to chew on bones, for spaniels it is better to give up this venture. When they are used, the animal may experience constipation, volvulus, and there is a risk of damage to the tissues of internal organs. In addition, contact with a hard surface leads to deformation and abrasion of tooth enamel.

All baked goods, pasta and sweets should be removed from the diet. It is harmful to give a dog legumes, potatoes, broccoli. Common cabbage can only be added boiled or sauerkraut.

The list of prohibited foods for a Cocker Spaniel looks like this:

• bones, fat and skin of birds;
• grapes and raisins;
• mushrooms;
• soy;
• corn and semolina porridge;
• sugary foods that contain sugar or a substitute;
• food with caffeine, cocoa and other stimulants;
• food with marinade, salt and spices;
• smoked meats;
• expired food;
• scraps from the owner's table.

A properly formulated diet will help ensure the health and longevity of your four-legged friend.